I'm a notoriously last minute packer, but I had a long shopping list (of items to deliver) so I had to plan ahead a bit. I think 90% of the contents of the suitcase above got a one way trip across the Pacific...
On the night I departed, I had a lovely dinner with friends and even got a few games of Mahjong in before I had to head to the airport.
Due to the late departure time (1:00am) and a desire not to terribly inconvenience my ride (thanks Nick!), I arrived about 2.5 hours ahead of time. After checking in, I walked around SFO to view the excellent exhibits. At the International Terminal, they showcased Lace and, in addition to some great examples of the craft, also displayed some of the tools artists used to create them.
Since I had so much time, I even walked over to the newly renovated Terminal 3 to take a look. Being the only person walking through a large airport terminal feels really strange since you normally associate the sight, sounds and general activity of, mostly transient, people with it. But that night, at almost 12:00am, I found myself alone with the Sky art installation. Very cool.
This trip marked my first opportunity to fly SQ (aka Singapore Air) and, knowing their stellar reputation, I anxiously awaited my chance for this experience on a long haul flight.
The moment I sat down, I could already tell this would be different than the usual "domestic" standard of service here in the States. While still a typical economy/coach type seat with thin padding and precious little leg room, the generously sized screen hinted at an excellent entertainment selection (which I fully explored inflight) and little details like the offset cupholder, USB power and footrest indicated that some intelligent thought actually went into designing the whole thing.
The dinner I had eaten several hours earlier still sat satisfyingly in my stomach, but I just could not pass the chance at trying the first meal service (which, I thought, would also help me to stay up a bit longer into the flight). So I opted for the stir fried fish fillet in garlic sauce with veggies and fried rice. It came with a nice shrimp/cucumber salad to start and a brownie for dessert. Overall, I'd say a B/B+ meal. Due to the late departure, long flight time (~14 hrs) and early arrival (~6am), I had decided on a strategy of staying up as long as possible before getting as much continuous sleep as possible before landing. So, after dinner, I enjoyed a couple movies (American Hustle & Walter Mitty) before succumbing to sweet, sweet sleep.
I had an okay sleep, helped by the nice, warm fleece blanket, and woke up ready to eat and further utilize my entertainment system. I picked the chicken sausage (great), baked eggs (what you'd expect) and tater tot option. Overall, I liked it except for the soggy tater tots (let's give it a B). Maybe I should've picked the dim sum choice...
I took a peek out the window and got to see a bit of morning light on the horizon. This view, no matter the destination, always makes me smile.
Once I touched down at HKG (nearly an hour early), I switched the phone on to get in touch with Susanna (who flew CX from SFO to HKG). We had pre-planned to hangout for a bit at the airport while she waited for her connecting flight to Japan and I waited for Aunty Karen to give me a lift. I got a bit peckish waiting for my suitcase so Susanna kindly gave me a homemade Samoa-inspired cookie (with chocolate and toasted coconut). A few of the All Black Sevens players on the advertisement board even made it into the picture!
Then we went to McDonalds for some brekkie. I picked a combo meal which, somewhat disappointingly, turned out to just be a deconstructed McMuffin with a hash brown. The best thing about the meal had to be the hot soy milk with black sesame drink. Delicious.
After breakfast, we sat down to watch the Crossfit Open 14.5 announcement (incidentally taking place live in San Francisco). We sat in awe as we watched the professionals pull off thruster after thruster and burpee after burpee. 21-18-15-12-9-6-3...so many...and they all finished in 10 minutes or less! After that, we parted ways as Susanna headed back into the terminal for her flight and Aunty Karen arrived to pick me up.
After Aunty Karen and I went home to drop off my luggage and freshen up, we headed back out to make the most of the rest of the day. We grabbed a quick lunch at the mall before hopping onto the MTR to take us to HK. I miss this delicious, fast and cheap Chinese food...
After a stop at the Immigration Tower, where we met up with Dad and Uncle Fred, we walked over to run an errand at the Chinese Embassy. They had this cool painting in the lobby by the elevators.
I haven't been to NZ in far too long so I haven't had one of these in a while. Deryck mentioned he saw them at 7-11 in HK so I made it a point to hunt down a can for a mid-afternoon pick-me-up. Mission accomplished.
Then we went to get a foot massage. So relaxing. I felt a bit bad for the masseuse since my feet have taken a pounding in those Five Finger shoes I like to wear so much. Well, it felt good and I'm also glad I looked at the menu and noticed my first (and far from last) bit of Chinglish on this trip.
Then we headed to Din Tai Fun for some delicious dumplings for dinner with the family. Quite yummy.
Dad, Uncle Fred, Aunty Karen, Me, Deryck & Emily. Deryck and I, somewhat embarrassingly, wore the same dark grey Icebreaker shirt (short sleeve crew on me and the long sleeve V-neck on him).
After a good night's rest, I got to eat one of these, at long last, for breakfast. Those of you unfamiliar with Georgie Pie, think of an NZ fast food chain which sold delicious, cheap meat pies. I grew up with these and have strong, positive associations with Georgie Pie pies and my childhood. In any case, McDonalds bought the rights and closed all the stores back in the 90's and it made thousands of NZers very sad. Recently, an internet campaign (capped off by a popular Facebook group and documentary film) demonstrated that there might just be enough interest in the Georgie Pie brand that McDonalds dusted off the old recipe and reintroduced the pies to their stores late last year. Aunty Karen brought a couple back with her to HK (frozen) and she saved one for me. I don't quite recall whether it tastes as good as it used to (we all know my memory doesn't work that well), but I greatly appreciated reconnecting with this awesome Kiwi institution!
On a gloomy morning, Bess & Barn chill out at the front of the house.
I caught the MTR out to Causeway Bay and met up with Deryck & Emily to go to the HK Rugby Sevens Tournament. I'd like to emphasize that we met up in the morning because you might note that the above picture of the (NZ) All Black Sevens team against Samoa looks like a night game.
Well, shortly after that game concluded (Sevens matches typically consist of two 7 minute halves), the foreboding thunderclouds unleashed their fury on Hong Kong Stadium. And it poured. Full on lightning, thunder and torrential rain. No joke, I took the picture above at about 11:30am in the morning.
We watched a couple more games and when the rain finally eased up, we walked down the road for lunch at Burgeroom. While not what you might call traditional, HK fare, it hit the spot.
The other important (i.e. NZ) matches wouldn't happen till later in the afternoon so we walked over to the HSBC Fan Zone across from the stadium. Deryck & I relished the chance to participate in these skill challenges. First up, punting the ball into a target. Deryck got the closest between the two of us, but he also has the benefit of better foot eye coordination than I (thanks to years of soccer).
Then Deryck (top) and I (bottom) did our best halfback impressions to pass the ball into the target. Deryck's passes had a bit more zip, but I, after a few early misses, found my rhythm and accuracy. Guess I'm the halfback of the family?
Finally, we stepped up to check the speed of our tennis serve. I won this one (perhaps owing to my years of trying out and not making the Punahou tennis team) with a ~70mph screamer (I think the radar might've been underestimating...but what do I know). Apparently, I got the highest score up to that point in the day.
After all the fun and games, we returned to Hong Kong Stadium to get some seats for the afternoon's matches. Our view from the West Stand.
An honourary Kiwi with a couple of Kiwi blokes.
The Sevens format of Rugby has a reputation for creating a party atmosphere at the tournament. The South Stand, shown above, embodies that party spirit as the majority of the fans in that section arrive in themed costumes and, over the course of the day, proceed to get pissed (i.e. hammered, plastered, inebriated).
After we watched the last of the day's exciting matches (i.e. NZ finished for the day), we headed over to Yardbird for some yakitori. A popular restaurant for expats, they serve some great skewered meats and have a extensive drinks menu including Hitachino beer (good stuff) and Japanese whiskey. Sadly, I have no pictures of the food (just the kitchen). However, I'd be remiss if I didn't recommend their KFC (Korean Fried Cauliflower...though you can order "off menu" and have them make it with chicken) dish. You won't be disappointed. Definitely check this place out if you find yourself looking for a good (non-Chinese) meal in HK.
The next day, we got ready to head back out to HK Stadium for another full day of Sevens Rugby. Barney came out to bid us farewell.
After an extremely brief brunch with Misha and Erisa, Deryck, Emily & I caught NZ's Quarterfinal victory from the South Stand (which calmed down a bit compared to the previous day's debauchery...just a bit). Following the match, the team gathered near the cluster of NZ fans before leaving the field to recover before their important Semifinal (against Aussie no less).
NZ dispatched Oz and booked their spot in the Final! So, we picked out some choice seats (close to the field) and waited patiently for the last match of the night.
So the All Black Sevens took the field against England to face off for the 2014 Hong Kong Sevens title.
NZ won a pulsating final and simply outplayed the English. Towards the end of the match, the rain returned and after the game ended and the teams got their medals, it made for an amazing victory Haka at centerfield. Unlike the (15 a side) All Blacks, the Sevens team will only perform the Haka when they win the tournament so I feel incredibly honored that I got to witness the Haka here in HK (arguably the most famous of all the Sevens tourneys) and in San Diego back in 2008. Prior to leaving the stadium, the team came back to the cluster of NZ fans and did an encore of the Haka for their fellow countrymen (which I snapped a blurry and distant pic of). Truly amazing!
I snapped this picture on our walk back to the MTR. I wish I had taken more pictures of Hong Kong's famous neon signs but I only got this one. In fact, they've been promoting an online exhibition of crowdsourced and publicly submitted Neon sign photos (http//www.neonsigns.hk). Very cool.
After exiting the MTR station above ground, I got treated to a lightning show by the crazy thunderstorms dumping rain on HK. I just didn't have very good luck with the weather on this trip...
Deryck & I met up with Dad & Aunty Karen for dinner. Due to NZ progressing all the way to the final, we didn't make it back till pretty late so we just picked a restaurant in the mall (Shanghai Popo). Can't be a respectable Shanghainese restaurant unless you serve a decent shengjianbao. These tasted pretty good.
The next day began quite gloriously with Dim Sum at Tim Ho Wan. Being my first trip there, Deryck & Aunty insisted I had to try the Baked Char siu Bao. Interesting combination of a sweet, baked exterior and the delicious pork on the inside. I ate quite a few of them.
A sampling of some of the other goodies including Shrimp dumplings, Chicken feet and, my personal favorite, pan fried turnip cake.
We ended the delightful meal with a steamed Malay Cake. Light, sweet, fluffy.
We walked around, did some shopping and, despite being incredibly full from Dim Sum, I dropped into McDonalds for a red bean pie. It tasted as you'd expect. If you like red bean, like I do, then you'd appreciate it. Otherwise, perhaps one of the other pies might be more to your liking?
Continuing our shopping trip, we found ourselves in Langham Place where the Spiral Stars walk takes you through a bunch of stores where you encounter little sculptures of the 12 horoscope signs. I had to pose with Gemini.
As has become something of a tradition, we BBQ'd a dinner with ribs, NZ sausages and steak. It made things a little tricky with the heavy rain, but we pulled the grill closer to the house and made it work.
The next day, I did my last round of shopping. I saw this giant stuffed animal in one of the malls we visited. I'm glad those people wandered into the picture so that they provide the image with some size reference.
And with that, my trip approached its conclusion. Dad, Aunty and I drove over to the airport, picking up Deryck along the way. Passing through one of the elevated walkways, I saw this lot full of Hong Kong's iconic red taxis.
We grabbed a quick dinner in Terminal 2 at the Macanese restaurant before my flight back. Deryck and his soup (just the appetizer that came before his pasta casserole).
My chicken dinner (below) and Aunty Karen's dinner (above...I don't remember what she had).
After saying goodbye to Deryck & Aunty, I had just a bit more time to kill and also a United Club pass courtesy of Scott (thanks man!). So I got to enjoy a bit of quiet time prior to departure.
And then I had to walk from one end of the spacious HKG airport (where I had been in the United Club) over to the other end (where my Singapore Air flight would depart).
While not quite as extensive as SFO's museum, I enjoyed seeing these little exhibits scattered throughout the HKG airport. And we all know I'm a bit of a sucker for plane memorabilia (including toys).
Once on board, and again despite being full, I opted for the dinner. For this meal, I selected the stir fried noodles with pork and mushrooms. I actually quite liked this meal (nothing fancy, but tasty and not overcooked or oddly textured). As for the accompaniments, I thought the chicken pasta salad tasted fine and I really liked the creamy sweetness of the passionfruit panna cotta. A- meal!
And just before landing, having learned from my mistake on the previous flight, I selected the Dim Sum for breakfast (come to think of it, not quite sure why they served breakfast before a 9pm arrival...but they did). While the radish cake and shiu mai just tasted okay (maybe my expectations had been elevated to unreasonable levels by Tim Ho Wan?), I did like the glutinous rice. B+ meal.
And with that, the whirlwind trip to HK came to an end. I wish I had more time (and more PTO) so that I could've done more during my trip rather than just the rugby and a bit of leisure. But I can be very glad I had the opportunity to spend the time together with family. Until next time Hong Kong. I look forward to our next meeting.
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